Cold as Ice (2 page)
“And I don’t think we should, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see her more than once. Besides, why are we even worrying about this? We don’t have any idea if she’ll say yes.”
Jake blew out a loud breath, and Carter wondered about the direction of his friend’s thoughts. He hoped he wasn’t getting his hopes up or expecting too much. “No, we don’t.”
“But are you gonna help?” Luc asked Jake. “I think the only way she’ll go for it is if she thinks all three of us are into her. She was definitely interested, but she’ll need some encouragement.”
“Are you sure she wasn’t grossed out or anything?”
“Definitely not,” Luc answered. “I mentioned sharing and her hands tightened on me.”
Jake nodded. “Okay. I’ll test the waters.”
“Me, too,” Carter answered.
“We can’t rush this, though. I don’t wanna freak her out.”
“Agreed,” Luc said.
Jake looked at both of them. “So we’ll take the next couple of weeks, drop some hints, and see what happens?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Carter nodded and then sat back as their meals were delivered. It was strange to be looking forward to this. Normally these things just kind of happened, but since they all knew Eva, they had to take a different tack. He had to admit, his level of interest in her was higher than it was for all those one-night stands the three of them were famous for. He just hoped all three of them were really on the same page. Carter didn’t want to hurt Eva, but he also knew he wasn’t ready for any kind of commitment like his teammates Leo and Scott had made to Kelly. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Luc flicked his ear.
“Ow! What the fuck, man?”
“Where’d you go? We were talking about the game last night.”
“What about it?”
“I didn’t like the way the team responded. I know we won, but we can’t let Boston get the physical edge like that again. We have to play these guys three more times, and if they think they can come into our barn and run us over, they’ve got another think coming.” Luc crossed his arms over his chest, and Carter knew they were in for another rah-rah speech. Luc could do one of these anywhere, anytime, to anyone.
“We’ll get ’em next time,” Carter replied, shrugging. “And we won the game. That’s the best revenge there is.”
“They made us look like pussies,” Luc said, and turned away with a growl.
Jake broke in. “But we won, dude. Let it go.”
“I’m the captain. I can’t let it go. If I let it go everyone else will think it’s okay to back off.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “Dude, I promise you, we don’t wanna look like pussies any more than you do.”
“I need you guys to back me up on this when I bring it up before the next game.”
“Of course we will,” Jake reasoned. “Don’t we always?”
Luc ran his hand over the back of his neck, and Carter wondered if the team’s response was the only thing bothering him. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling us?”
“Gardiner challenged me to a fight last night. I didn’t take him up on it, but I might not be able to refuse next time.”
“You’re not a fighter,” Jake argued, and Carter nodded. Of the three of them, Jake was most likely to drop the gloves, but even he only did it seldomly and always to defend a teammate. Carter tended to live and let live. Luc would fight if need be, but Carter knew Tom, the head coach, didn’t want to take Luc off the ice for five full minutes, so he discouraged it.
Luc sighed. “No, I’m not, but I may not be able to avoid it.”
“Why don’t you just tell Kinger about it?” Jake asked, referring to the team’s reigning pugilist.
Luc grimaced. “I could, but he’s gonna have his hands full as it is. Besides, having other people fight for me doesn’t sit well, you know?”
Carter shrugged. Sat fine with him. “It’s not your job, dude. Your job is to score goals and keep the team together. If you don’t give Kinger something to do, he’ll get bored, and nobody wants that.” His lame attempt at humor worked, though, as both Jake and Luc laughed.
“True that,” Jake replied. “He’ll glue your pants together again.”
“I knew that was him,” Luc grumbled.
“Oh, shit, he’s gonna kick my ass. I thought you knew.”
“He’ll never know how I found out. But I’ll get that little fucker.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
Carter watched his teammates banter and relaxed again. As much as he loved hockey, as good as he was at it, and as competitive as he was, he hated all this extra stuff. He just wanted to go out there and play the game. Taking a big bite of his sandwich, he washed it down with a gulp of water and continued to watch the byplay of his friends. He was a lucky man, and if Eva agreed to take them on, he’d be even luckier.
Chapter Two
Eva sat back in her chair, abandoning the patient notes she was trying desperately to update. Three men? Good lord, what was that like? She’d heard rumors they shared women. Who hadn’t? The whole team was becoming known for its “generous” nature. But three of them? How did that work? The mind boggled.
She sat there, too turned on to do anything, for a good ten minutes. Finally she forced herself to her feet and went back to the massage table. The sheets smelled like the eucalyptus oil she’d used on Luc. Undeniably him, undeniably male. Eva groaned. And she still had both of the other guys to work on today. Her poor Hitachi vibrator was going to get a workout again tonight. She was on her third vibrator since meeting the guys. Damn things kept overheating.
Her next appointment stuck her head in the door. “Hello, Eva!”
“Mrs. Nelson. How are you? Come on in.”
Thankfully Mrs. Nelson was full of gossip and complaints and kept Eva hopping through the next hour. Eva ate a quick lunch after Mrs. Nelson left, and before she knew it there was a knock on her door. Figuring it was Carter, she took a deep, cleansing breath and opened it.
“Hi, Carter.” She was proud of herself for how steady her voice sounded. She certainly didn’t feel steady.
He brushed past her and she could swear he purposely pushed his rock-hard, well-muscled body against hers. A shiver worked its way up her spine.
This is gonna be a long day…
Carter plopped down in the chair she kept for her clients and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “What’s up, chica?”
She knew she should be insulted that all three guys had a pet name for her, but she just couldn’t muster the righteous, independent female indignation. God help her, she kind of liked knowing they called her special names.
“Not much.” They talked about a few general things and then she brought up the game the night before. “Luc said you had a rough time of it last night.”
Carter grinned at her. “You didn’t watch?”
“You know I work nights sometimes.” She sounded defensive, and when his grin only widened she sighed. “I like watching you guys. It’s just hard sometimes.”
“Hard, huh?” He kept the grin on his face, and she tried to ignore the obvious double entendre.
“I suffer right along with you.” She rolled her eyes, and he laughed. “Anyway, Luc thought they might’ve been targeting your quad. How does it feel?”
“Tender.”
“Okay. I’ll work on it but try not to make it worse.”
“My body always feels better after you touch me.”
Again she ignored his suggestive comment. What was with the guys today? They’d always been flirty, but it was like they were purposely torturing her. She looked up. Carter’s cobalt blue eyes had gone dark, and Eva decided now would be a good time to leave him to get ready. Then she could at least run some cold water over her heated skin in the bathroom since there was no time for a cold shower.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get undressed.” She felt her face flush and cursed her pale skin. “Face up, please.” She scooted out the door before Carter could make any more suggestive comments. Leaning against the wall outside her room, she closed her eyes and berated herself. These guys were her clients. She had no right lusting after them. Knowing that didn’t change the facts, though. She wanted these guys, all three of them. And now that she knew for a fact they shared women, it was even harder to deny herself. But would the guys love her and leave her like they had so many others?
Her head was swimming, and a headache was developing at her temples. After stopping off in the bathroom to run a damp paper towel over the back of her neck and down into her cleavage, she began to rub her temples while she walked back into the room. Maybe she should’ve taken some ibuprofen. When she looked up, Carter’s gaze was zeroed in on her hands. She’d always admired his singular focus, whether it was on the puck before a face-off or something else, but right now she’d give anything to not be the recipient of that stare.
“Do you have another of your headaches?” Her face must’ve registered her surprise, because he smiled. “You don’t think we listen to you at all, do you? We do, and we remember what you tell us.”
“I’ll have to be more discerning about what I say, then,” she murmured, and he chuckled.
“Nah. Just know we’ll use it against you if we need to.”
“Use it against me? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I like the sound of being against you,” he retorted, and she felt her pussy clench.
The momentary coolness from the paper towel treatment vanished in a heartbeat. “Let’s get you started.”
“Yes, let’s get started.” Eva squirted a little lotion onto her hands from the ever-present bottle strapped to her waist and put both hands on his shoulders, pressing down gently to establish contact with the client. “Mmmm. Magic hands.”
“I haven’t even done anything yet.”
“I’m more relaxed as soon as I walk in the door. Seriously.”
Eva didn’t say anything, choosing instead to push her palms down his shoulders and into his trapezius and pectoral muscles. Carter had a light dusting of hair on his chest and her fingers briefly tangled in it before sliding through, over his hard, flat nipples, and toward his stomach. She was moving a little lower than she needed to, but damn, his body was a revelation. All three of the men had perfect, though very different, physiques. Luc was the tallest at nearly six foot three and lean. Carter stood a little over six feet tall, with a well-developed but ropey musculature, while Jake was barely five foot ten but had the most solid muscle of the three, undoubtedly to compensate for his smaller stature on the ice.
Her hands slid back up, and she moved to his right shoulder, kneading the knots out of the muscles and working the tautness out of various nerves and tendons. Carter moaned and groaned throughout, far more vocal than he usually was. What game were the guys playing?
Eva moved to his other shoulder and repeated the process before going all the way down his arm. When she reached his hand she clasped it and dug her thumbs into his palm. “So good, chica, so good…”
